you can't play on broken strings
by isaacswolfsbane
Summary: Red String of Fate soulmate collection. Chapter 1 - Fred/Hermione. How long does it take to work out which twin is your soulmate?


**AN:** I've mostly stuck to canon with these events, but there are places where I've mixed book and movie canon or changed it up to fit the story I want to tell. But it's an AU, so none of that should matter anyway xD

Thanks to the lovely Bex for betaing :3

* * *

 **how dare you trust fate (she's not that kind)**

There is a legend, one as ancient as time itself, that states two souls who are destined to spend life together will be bound by red string. It is common knowledge that in ancient times people could see these strings and this would lead to many successful couplings. However, as time passed, humanity began to walk through life ignoring signs and passing by their soulmate without a second glance. They became blind to the strings of fate and were unable to ever truly be happy. Of course, some souls are bound together so tightly that they are destined to spend eternity together. Some, on the other hand, are not so lucky, even when both parties can see their string.

* * *

 _ **5th August, 1985**_

A seven-year-old Fred Weasley bounces down the street, his twin brother at his side. They're having a competition to see who can bounce the highest, then who can bounce the farthest, then back to highest. Their mother struggles to keep up, she's busy with her two youngest children, but it doesn't stop her from occasionally yelling things like, "Not in a Muggle neighbourhood, boys," or, "You're going to draw attention to yourselves, stop."

The boys don't pay attention to her, though. They're far too invested in their game, and too invested in following their strings. They try to find the other end every time they're allowed to walk away by themselves, but neither of them has come close yet. But today, something about Fred's feels different. He had tried to ask his mother about it earlier, but she just hushed him—she didn't believe in the strings, despite the fact she had married her soulmate.

It's as they are rounding a corner that Fred feels a slight pull on his string. He's never felt that before and his eyes scan the surrounding area. His gaze settles on a girl with bushy, brown hair who jumps slightly as he looks past. Fred nudges his brother and the two stand deadly still, staring at the girl whose eyes have landed on them. She looks as if she's trying to work something out when a tall, thin woman with the same face as the girl takes her hand and lifts her into the back seat of a nearby car.

As the car drives off, a five-year-old Hermione Granger stares back at the boys and wonders which one of them is at the end of her string—the brothers were so close that their strings had become entangled around each other's.

Neither Fred nor Hermione think much more of the encounter after it passes. They wonder who the person on the other end of their string was, of course, but as the years pass and they don't meet, the memory fades. When Fred starts Hogwarts and he doesn't feel any different, he resigns himself to the fact that she was probably a Muggle and so they would never meet. It isn't until his third year that he finally feels a reaction from his string again.

* * *

 _ **1st September, 1991**_

"Mum, hurry up. We're going to be late!"

Hermione bounces on the balls of her feet by the front door, a loaded trunk sitting next to her begging to be picked up. At least, to Hermione, it seems like it's begging, to her mother it's just a trunk.

"Darling, calm down. The taxi won't be here for another ten minutes, and when it does we still have forty-five minutes to get to King's Cross and find this magical platform of yours."

"But what if we're late?" Panic creeps into Hermione's voice. "What if we can't find the platform?"

Hermione's mother sets down the coat she was about to put on and wraps Hermione in a hug.

"It'll be okay, darling. I know you're nervous, but you're a big girl now. You can do this." She offers Hermione a weak smile that she hopes is convincing enough to fool an eleven-year-old.

Hermione nods and then jumps away from her mother in excitement as she sees a taxi pull up outside of their house.

…

It takes every ounce of restraint Hermione has not to run through the station and find the platform as soon as they get out of the taxi. She had always wondered if magic was real—it had to be if soulmates were—and now she finally gets to experience it. She makes a pact with herself as she's waiting for her mother to fetch her trunk; she's going to study hard and learn as much about magic as she possibly can. Not only for herself, but for her mother who has always been interested in anything ethereal.

There is a spring in Hermione's step as they dodge their way through crowds of people, one that isn't mirrored in her mother's walking (though some of that is due to her having to manoeuvre a large trunk past so many people who refuse to move out of her way).

"It's here!"

Hermione stops in front of what looks like a plain brick wall.

"But I don't understand," her mother says. "How are we supposed to get through without anybody noticing?"

Hermione shrugs. She squares her shoulders and walks directly towards the wall, bracing herself for an impact that never comes. Instead, she walks out onto a brightly lit platform full of people bustling about with trunks like hers.

"Hermione, don't walk off like that!"

Her mother joins her on the platform, a slight look of fear on her face, but Hermione barely registers the words she says. The string connecting her and the ginger boy from a few years ago is starting to tug slightly. He's here. Hermione tries to look for the boy in the crowd, but there are too many people dashing about, too many flashes of orange, and too many strings to be able to follow the path hers takes. She sighs. Hopefully, the boy will be at school, too, and she'll find him when she gets there.

…

Fred is hauling his trunk onto the train when he feels the tug of his string. It's a surprisingly familiar feeling to him despite how long it has been since he last felt it. Surely it's too good to be true. He looks for the girl with the bushy hair, but since he's halfway onto the train he doesn't have long enough to stop so he fails to find her in the crowd.

His gaze lingers on every compartment he passes, hoping for even a glimpse just to remind himself it's real, but when he finds George and Lee in a compartment halfway up the train he's forced to stop his search. Fred just has to hope that the girl would be starting Hogwarts this year and she wasn't there for a relative.

…

Thankfully, the connection between Fred and the girl stays through the whole journey. It's nearing the end of the journey when they finally come face to face.

"Excuse me," she says.

Fred knew she was there, he could feel it, and he had to force himself to wait until she spoke to look up.

"Have any of you seen a toad? Neville here has lost his. It's called Trevor."

"I can't say we have," Lee tells her.

She's gone far too quickly for Fred's liking. He'd like to get to know her more, but he knows starting a conversation with her would come across as strange to his friend and brother. He sits back when they start cracking jokes about her and the toad, though, deciding that making fun of his soulmate isn't something he ever wants to do.

He breaks it eventually, but he is Fred Weasley. Nobody who enters Fred's life manages to escape the combined force of him and George.

…

Hermione is sorted into Gryffindor and she couldn't be happier. She had considered Ravenclaw as an option, but from her reading thought that Gryffindor was the best house. She watches the rest of the sorting fervently and it's only when Harry Potter is sorted and two twin boys start chanting that she realises she shares a house with the boy on the other end of her string. When their younger brother gets sorted into Gryffindor too, she learns that his last name is Weasley.

What Hermione doesn't know is that Fred was just as excited she was sorted into Gryffindor as he was about Harry Potter. He had wanted to stand up and cheer when Hermione got sorted, so when Harry did, his chants were extremely enthusiastic to make up for it.

Fred mulls over his options and decides Ron is the best way to get to Hermione since they're in the same year. After dinner, when the house is in the common room celebrating the new arrivals, he pulls his brother aside.

"Ron, think you can make friends with that Hermione girl?"

"Why? What's in it for me?"

"Why do you need anything? It's not exactly going to be a taxing job."

"You haven't spoken to her." Ron's face drops into a scowl. "She's awful—told me to get changed into my robes when we were still an hour away and had the nerve to tell me I had dirt on my nose!"

"You do have dirt on your nose."

"Not the point. I'm not doing it."

Ron walks off and Fred silently curses. Hermione can't really be as bad as Ron says, can she? He sees her sitting alone on the edge of the room and debates going over, but then George and Lee coerce him into a game of Exploding Snap and all thoughts of Hermione move to the back of his mind.

…

Throughout the year, Fred gets so used to the feeling of his string humming with energy that he barely notices it anymore. He does notice when it's gone, though. Hermione had befriended Ron and Harry over the course of the year and Fred had been hoping that she'd be staying at Hogwarts for Christmas like her friends were, but she was Muggleborn so, of course, she was going home to see her family.

Hermione misses the connection while she's with her family. She still hasn't worked out which twin is on the other end—she can't tell if either of them can see the string, neither react when she enters a room—but she has learnt their names. She's learnt that they're a nuisance, too. They cause havoc everywhere they go and Hermione can't decide whether it's annoying or charming. She justifies the behaviour by telling herself that they're just having fun.

…

She visits the Burrow during the summer holidays. It's while she's there that she and Fred have their first real conversation. They've spoken before, of course, but until that point, it had only ever been things like, "could you pass the butter, please?" or, "you have got to be kidding me! Do you have to let off dungbombs while I'm trying to study?" and on the rare occasion Fred and George visit the library, "do you live in here, Hermione?"

This time, it lasts longer than a few seconds.

"Is Harry not joining us?" Fred asks on the third day of Hermione's stay.

He and George had commented on Harry's absence earlier—he, Hermione, and Ron were becoming inseparable so they had assumed when Hermione showed up that Harry wouldn't be far behind.

"No," Hermione says. "We've invited him, but he hasn't replied to our—my—letters all summer."

The look of concern on Hermione's face makes Fred's stomach twist. He longs to reach out and comfort her but he knows it isn't his place.

"Ron said the Muggles don't like magic. Are you sure they haven't been stealing his letters?"

A small giggle escapes Hermione's lips and Fred smiles to himself—if he can't comfort her, he can sure as hell cheer her up with humour.

"They wouldn't," she says a minute later. "Maybe he just doesn't want to see us?"

"Of course he does!" Fred says, jumping to his feet. "The Muggles probably aren't letting him reply is all. It's okay, we can rescue him!"

George gets to his feet, a bewildered look on his face, but follows Fred out of the room anyway.

"What's the plan?" George asks when they are comfortably sitting in their own room.

"To take Dad's car, of course."

* * *

 _ **7th October, 1992**_

"You filthy little Mudblood!"

Time seems to stand still as the insult rolls from Malfoy's mouth. Fred doesn't even notice himself moving and he bolts towards the younger boy, George hot on his heels. It isn't until his teammates pull him back that he even realises he reacted. It feels like hours before Fred stops seeing red, but in reality, he knows it has only been a few seconds.

He can tell by looking at Hermione's face that she doesn't know what Malfoy meant, but that doesn't make Fred want to murder the little bastard any less. Even if Hermione wasn't his soulmate he'd want to, but saying it to Hermione just means that Malfoy is in for another four years of hell.

* * *

 _ **8th May, 1993**_

A shiver runs down Fred's spine and he jolts awake, the haze of sleep dissipating instantly. Something feels wrong but he isn't sure what. He's about to go and find out with it is when he remembers he's in the middle of a History of Magic lesson. Binns wouldn't notice, of course, but the other students would and for one Fred doesn't want to draw too much attention to himself.

So he sits there, time dragging even more than it usually does in these lessons, every breath catching in his throat as his chest tightens. He feels cold all over and is about to ask to go to Madam Pomfrey when the bell finally signifies the end of the lesson.

Fred races from the room, his heart beating dangerously fast. When George and Lee eventually catch up, they ask him, "What was that all about?" at the same time as Fred hears somebody tell their friend, "There have been two more people petrified—that Granger girl and some sixth year I don't know."

Fred feels his blood start to run cold. He can barely move. He can barely feel George's hand pressed against his back. He can barely hear Lee and George asking if he's okay. The words "Granger" and "petrified" are all he can think of as his thoughts begin to spiral out of control.

What brings him back to reality is the sight of Harry and Ron walking down the corridor. They'll know what's happening.

"How's Hermione?" Fred asks when the boys get close enough to hear him.

He feels George jump, obviously assuming Fred is still in his catatonic state.

"She's petrified, how do you think she is?" Ron snaps. "Why do you care anyway?"

"Because any friend of ickle Ronniekins is a friend of ours," George jumps in. Then, in a more serious tone, he adds, "We're worried about her, too, you know."

Ron looks like he's about to retaliate but Harry pulls him back. The two boys walk off and as they pass Fred, Harry gives him a nod. The look in his eyes says, "I'll keep you updated." Well, that's what Fred sees in his eyes; he doesn't know how much of that is wishful thinking, though.

...

The strain in his chest eases slightly after speaking to Harry and Ron, but later that night Fred can't help but sneak out of Gryffindor Common Room to visit Hermione in the Hospital Wing.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Fred taps his wand against the parchment in his hand and watches it come to life. Usually, Fred gets excited seeing the spectacular spellwork come to life, but tonight he is too worried about Hermione to take too much notice of it.

He and George slip quietly through the corridors, taking the long way there to stay out of Filch's way. They are, and have always been, grateful that animals show up on the map, too. Fred has wondered many times before if Filch and Mrs Norris patrolled the school when the creators of the map were there, too. Tonight, however, he has no time for wonderings. Tonight, his only goal is to make sure Hermione is okay (George had tried to talk him out of going, assuring him that Hermione was in good hands with Madam Pomfrey, but Fred wanted to see for himself).

When the pair get to the Hospital Wing, George stands guard with the Map, leaving Fred to check on Hermione alone (he doesn't tell Fred, but he always feels like he's in the way whenever Hermione is there, even in an unconscious state).

Fred races over to her. His heart is pounding and seeing her like this is making it hard for him to breathe. He has to keep reminding himself that she's not dead, that she's petrified and the school is already working on a cure.

He doesn't know why he's reacting this severely, it's not like they really even know each other. There's just something about the girl lying in the bed that sparks Fred's interest, and it isn't the red string that's connecting them.

He places a gentle hand on her cheek.

"You'll come out the other side of this better than ever. I know you will."

* * *

 _ **17th November, 1993**_

Chairs scrape across the floor as the people around Hermione start dragging their chairs closer to the table to look into their crystal balls. Hermione rolls her eyes. She isn't sure why she even bothered taking Divination in the first place; it wouldn't be useful to her future and it's not like any of the 'techniques' they use have any real results.

"Ahh, ahh!"

Professor Trelawney is suddenly at Hermione's table, gazing into the crystal ball in which Hermione can only see white smoke. She has to fight the urge to roll her eyes at the witch's flair for the dramatic.

"Ah, my dear, I sense trouble in your future." Professor Trelawney pauses and Hermione inwardly sighs—she knows the pause if only for dramatic effect and whatever comes next won't have any actual bearing on her life. "Yes, the one you are bound to will fall victim to a terrible fate! Perhaps something involving snow, or rain. The danger comes from above."

When Professor Trelawney has moved on to Parvati and Lavender's table, Hermione leans over to whisper to Ron and Harry.

"What a load of nonsense," she scoffs. "What danger can come from snow and rain?"

"I don't know, maybe whoever it is gets snow in their eye and goes blind," Ron says, snickering after every other word.

Hermione shakes her head and tries not to laugh herself. She had known from the first lesson that the subject wasn't one she would be able to take seriously, and she's even more convinced of that now, but there is still something about Professor Trelawney's statement that causes her chest to contract slightly. What if something does happen to Fred and George? Their experiments are hardly safe and Ron told her they test everything they create on themselves.

She settles back into her chair and tries to spend the rest of the lesson running over the answers she wrote for her Ancient Runes homework in her head in case there's anything she needed to fix after the lesson, but the image of Fred and George being hurt won't leave her brain.

* * *

 **25th August, 1994**

"Run!" Arthur yells at Fred and George. "Take Ginny and run. Keep your sister safe."

Fred does because he does want to keep Ginny safe. That doesn't stop him from searching every face he passes to find Hermione, though. She'll be with Harry and Ron, and Merlin knows they need her more than Fred does right now, but he still wants to know she's safe.

When the Dark Mark appears in the sky, panic fills Fred's entire body. He's fairly certain Hermione can't be dead—he'd feel it, wouldn't he?—but if Harry or Ron are dead or hurt he'd want to be there to comfort Hermione. All he can do is run, though. It isn't the time or place to be worrying about things outside of his control when he can control the protection of George and Ginny.

They reach the hill where they portkeyed in, ready to meet with rest of the family, but Arthur, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are still missing. Fred's panic levels start to rise as they wait for the others to join them, fearful that something has gone wrong. Luckily, it hasn't and the four of them emerge from the woods moments later. Fred lets out a breath he didn't realise he was holding and George shoots him a curious look—he's never seen Fred get this worked up over anyone else before, excluding him, of course.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione recount what happened at the World Cup when they're all back at the Burrow nursing cups of hot chocolate in Ron's room. Fred is still on edge for most of the story, but knowing everybody is safe he finds himself relaxing and enjoying the tale for all the adventure it holds. He can't quite hold back his look of shock, though, when he's told of Winky's involvement.

…

Hogwarts starts and all anybody can talk about is the Quidditch World Cup. Those that were there, including Fred, George, Harry, Ron, and Ginny, spin tales of the horror that the Death Eaters brought and the daring escapes they all made. Hermione refuses to talk about it as nobody seems to care about the Muggles that were there. Instead, she throws all her energy into a new campaign for House Elves which Fred thinks is ridiculous.

"We're not joining, Hermione. Just cut it out."

Hermione sighs. "But don't you think House Elves deserve equal treatment? They shouldn't be made to cook and clean if they don't want to."

"But they _do_ want to," George tells her.

"I'm telling you that if you keep this up the elves are going to get insulted."

"How do you know, have you spoken to them?"

"Actually, yes," Fred says, a smug smile forcing its way onto his face.

Surprise makes Hermione's mouth drop open. "How?"

Fred shrugs. "Every time we go to the kitchen. How do you think we get all the extra food?"

"And how exactly do you get into the kitchen? I've never seen a door to it."

"Well of course not!" Fred chuckles slightly. "Dumbledore wouldn't want just anyone being able to walk into the kitchen."

"Then how did you get in?" A dubious scowl is resting on Hermione's face that Fred doesn't like. She's much prettier when she smiles he notes, and then has to shake the thought from his head. When did he start thinking of Hermione being pretty?

"You tickle the pear in the picture of the fruit bowl."

George scowls at him for giving away their secret but Fred doesn't care; the blinding smile on Hermione's face is more than he could wish for. He notes again how pretty she is when she smiles, but for some reason this time it seems nicer. It isn't until Hermione has walked away that he realises her front teeth are no longer oversized and no longer taking away from the natural beauty she possesses.

…

The Triwizard Cup is revealed and Hermione can't help but let out a sigh of contentment. It's truly beautiful, and she can sense everyone around her is also entranced by its beauty. When Dumbledore addresses the students to tell them what the Triwizard Tournament involves she tenses. She knows that's exactly the sort of thing Fred and George would want to enter, and probably Ron and Harry too. However, Dumbledore tells them it's only open to those wizards and witches of age and Hermione is relieved.

Fred and George try to bypass the age line. Hermione tells them it won't work, that they're not going to outsmart Dumbledore by being dumb, but they do it anyway. When they start growing beards, Hermione laughs. She jokes that they look better as old men and should keep them. She doesn't mean it, though, and is relieved when they visit Madam Pomfrey and get the charm reversed. They don't try to get past again.

When the first task comes around, they start taking bets on the competition. She doesn't agree with it, far too worried about her best friend's safety, but she knows there is nothing she can do to stop it. It's not like they're causing any harm anyway. She vows not to let them get away with their next crazy idea, though.

...

Ron scoffs. "I can't believe someone actually asked Hermione. I bet she's not going to go, probably wants to spend the night studying or something. Otherwise, why wouldn't she tell us who asked?"

"Maybe she thought we'd take the mickey out of her," Harry suggests.

Fred's heart sinks. He was never actively planning on asking Hermione himself, but a small part of Fred thought it would be nice for them to go together—they are soulmates after all. He wonders, and not for the first time, if Hermione even knows. He thinks she must, she used to react when he walked in the room, but the feeling of the string is so constant at Hogwarts he can't help but feel she has forgotten about it entirely.

"What are you two nutters whispering about?" Fred asks as he leans over to fetch the beans from in front of Harry's plate.

"Apparently someone asked Hermione to the ball," Harry tells him. "Ron isn't too convinced."

"She won't tell us who asked her!"

"She has, you know," Ginny says as she slides into the seat next to Harry. "She's told me who asked her as well. Not that I'm telling any of you."

Ron groans. "Well, now who am I supposed to ask? Girls always travel in packs. Doesn't exactly make it easy for us blokes."

Fred laughs, trying his hardest to act blase, to not outwardly show the weight that he feels pressing on his chest. "It's easy, watch." Fred turns to look down the other end of Gryffindor table. "Oi, Angelina! Want to go to the ball with me?"

"Yeah, sure." Angelina smiles at Fred and then turns back to her conversation with Alicia and Katie.

"See," Fred gloats. "Easy!"

…

Hermione stares at her reflection and smiles. She really is pleased with the outcome; she barely recognises herself.

"You look absolutely stunning," Parvati tells her, fastening the clasp on Hermione's necklace before adding the finishing touches to her own outfit.

"Thanks for the help."

Lavender, who is practically dripping with heavy-looking silver jewellery and wearing a beautiful mauve dress with a tulle skirt, joins them both at the mirror. "Will you please tell us who you're going with now?"

Hermione's throat starts to go dry and she struggles to swallow. "It's, erm, Viktor Krum."

Parvati and Lavender let out simultaneous squeals of glee.

"Are you serious?"

"How did he ask you?"

"Is he your soulmate?"

"Have you kissed?"

"What's he like?"

Hermione swallows again, suddenly regretting telling the two girls. "He, erm, he's nice… He doesn't speak much English so we, erm, we haven't spoken all that much."

"But have you _kissed_?" Lavender presses.

"No. No, we haven't."

Lavender's face falls and she walks away, much less invested now she knows there isn't any real gossip.

Parvati pauses for a moment, deep in thought. "He isn't your soulmate, is he?" she asks quietly, and Hermione just shakes her head in response.

She had hoped to be going to the ball with her soulmate—she thought maybe he'd ask and Hermione could finally work out which one of the twins is on the other end of her string—but Viktor had asked and Ron had been behaving like a prat recently so she had said yes to annoy him.

She assesses her image once more and smiles. It had taken several bottles of Sleekeazy's to get her hair to behave, but now she sees the result she's incredibly happy she made the effort. Everyone at the ball will probably assume she's made the effort for Viktor, but the truth is she wasn't thinking of him at all when planned her outfit. She was thinking about how having her hair back would show off her freckles. She was thinking about how everyone would be able to see her newly shrunken teeth when she smiles. She was thinking about how the periwinkle blue of her dress would contrast beautifully with the orange of the Weasley hair.

With a sigh, Hermione gathers her skirts and makes her way to the Entrance Hall to meet Viktor.

…

Almost every head is turned to face Hermione by the time she gets to the bottom of the staircase leading to the Entrance Hall. Fred's is one of the first, of course, and his jaw drops open in surprise. He had started to come to terms with Hermione starting to get attractive, but it had never occurred to him that she could be this stunningly beautiful. He barely has time to appreciate it, though, as Professor McGonagall starts attempting to herd the waiting students into the Great Hall.

When everyone has finally made their way into the Great Hall, the doors slam shut and the champions enter from the side chamber that resides just behind where the teacher's table usually stands. Whispers pick up all around Fred commenting on the champions and their dates, but Fred pays no attention to them. He spots Hermione on the arm of Viktor Krum and he feels like his world is about to end. She looks radiant, positive energy seeming to roll off her in waves, and it's all for Krum.

As they start dancing, Fred is seething. How dare he put his hands on her waist? Who does he think he is?

"Fred? Everything okay?"

Angelina's voice snaps his attention back to his friends.

"Yeah, I'm grand. Why wouldn't I be?" Fred chuckles lightly. "I just noticed Hermione with Krum is all. Bet that's annoying Ronniekins."

George shoots him a look—he's still the only one that knows Hermione is Fred soulmate—but Fred just shakes his head slightly. _Not now_ , he thinks, knowing his twin will understand the message.

One day, Fred will say something to Hermione. He'll tell her that they're soulmates and that even if she doesn't love him, he's there for her. For now, however, he's content to let her enjoy the night with Krum. He'll just try and avoid her as much as he can.

…

Hermione feels wrong letting Krum dance with her. His hand doesn't fit with her own, she feels violated by the hand on her waist, and they can't seem to dance in time with each other. With every moment that passes, she regrets her decision to say yes more and more.

Her eyes flick to Fred and George throughout the night. Though she knows they asked people to the ball, they spend all night in a group with most of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She wishes she could go over and spend time with them instead of Viktor—she's getting tired of his fans bombarding them constantly—but since she isn't on the Quidditch team she doesn't feel right interrupting them. She would find Harry, but he's with Ron who seems to be in a foul mood which Hermione doesn't want to deal with right now. So she stays and dances with Viktor, and when he leans in to kiss her, she doesn't stop him.

She doesn't enjoy the kiss, though, and Hermione decides this is the first and last time she's ever dating somebody that isn't her soulmate.

* * *

 _ **23rd August, 1995**_

"I don't believe my eyes!" Fred announces as he sees the badge in Ron's outstretched hand.

"Is ickle Ronniekins a Prefect?" George coos

"I hope you're not going to try and tell us off."

"Because if you did, it wouldn't work."

"Boys, lay off him. This is excellent, we've got the whole family now!Well, apart from Ginny, obviously, but there's no doubt she'll make prefect too," Molly exclaims.

"The whole family?" Fred asks incredulously.

"Yeah, what are Fred and I, next-door neighbours?"

"Well, you two don't count. You couldn't both have made prefect." Molly busies herself at the stove to avoid further questioning.

"Why aren't you picking on Hermione?" Ron asks, scowling at Fred and George.

George shrugs. "She's not family."

"And besides," Fred adds, "we were expecting Hermione to get Prefect. Dumbledore would be a fool not to."

Of course, that isn't the only reason Fred doesn't want to take the piss out of Hermione for it, but he could hardly tell _Ron_ the truth. If Ron knew, Fred would never hear the end of it. To be honest, the only person other than George that Fred thinks he could tell is Ginny, and he's pretty certain that she's already worked it out—she keeps giving Fred knowing looks whenever Hermione speaks. Bill and Charlie would understand, but Fred knows they'd just try and stick their nose in. Percy would probably look down his nose at Fred—he doesn't believe in soulmates. And his parents, especially his mum, would be insufferable. Fred can remember how excited she was when Bill told her that he and Fleur were soulmates, and how his mum still tries to coerce Bill into letting her meet Fleur.

No, for now, there is nobody else he can tell. That doesn't mean he's going to sit back, though. This year he's going to make sure they get to know each other better. He's going to make sure Hermione knows that there's more to him than jokes and pranks.

…

Hermione thrusts a sheet of paper in Fred and George's faces. "What is this?"

George shrugs. "It's a request for product testers."

"You can't just test your products on students. What if they're dangerous!"

"We've tested them all on ourselves first," Fred says in an attempt to reassure her. "We know they won't cause any lasting problems, we just need to know how different people react to them."

"That still doesn't mean you can test your products on the students. Especially the first years! That's just cruel."

Fred can sense George simmering with anger next to him. He won't snap, but Fred doesn't know for sure that he won't upset Hermione.

"What, it's not like we're forcing them. We're _asking_ , and paying them a fair amount as well," George tells her.

"Well, I'm putting an end to it. Stop now or I'll tell Professor McGonagall."

Hermione wouldn't tell, she knows how hard they've worked on their products, but she really doesn't like them testing their products on younger students and threatening to tell Professor McGonagall is the only way she can think to stop them. The only other threat she can think of is telling Molly and that's too harsh for Hermione to even consider.

A week later, when Fred and George are still testing their products on students, albeit more discreetly, Hermione does use the threat of telling Molly. They call her out on it but she doesn't back down. It does mostly put a stop to the testing, but Hermione feels dirty for using the threat. When she sees it happening again, she purposefully turns the other way and ignores it.

She really does admire Fred and George. Their products, while troublesome, are incredibly creative and well made. For all her intelligence, Hermione doesn't think she'd even be able to come close to making products like theirs. She's glad the students are using them to annoy Professor Umbridge, too, not that she'd ever voice the opinion out loud.

…

When she comes up with the idea for Dumbledore's Army, Fred and George are the first people she asks to join. They say yes straight away and immediately set out to find other recruits they find trustworthy. She hadn't expected them to be so on board with the idea, but she's glad that they are—more people will listen to them than they will to her, even though she's a prefect.

She gets the idea for the cursed parchment from Fred and George. She sees Seamus eat a sweet from one of their Skiving Snackboxes in a Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson and break out in boils. It isn't a clean as their charm most likely is, but it's something.

The lessons themselves are more of a hit than Hermione had hoped for. Everyone seems to improve. It makes her see Fred and George in a completely new light, too. She knew they had to be intelligent to create as many products as they have, but actually getting to see them excel at something other than practical jokes seems like a novelty. They're more helpful than she thought they would be, making sure the younger students know what they're doing when Hermione and Harry are too busy to go through it again.

Hermione starts to be able to tell them apart more, too. Fred is always much more flamboyant—he's louder when he masters a spell, he flourishes his wand more, and he always seems to be filled with excess energy—whereas George is more calm and collected, choosing to take a step back and only celebrate when everyone has got it right. They're slightly different physically, too. Fred has a scar in his hairline and is an inch taller, whereas George has more freckles and a slightly more square jaw.

They seem surprised when she starts calling them by their real names, and when she reveals that she can tell them apart their faces light up. Hermione is only sorry it took her this long. She had always lumped them together when they do have different personalities (even if that difference is slight).

When Marietta gets caught by the curse, Fred congratulates her and offers to help her refine it so the damage isn't as great. Hermione feels her heart flutter and for the first time finds herself hoping that her soulmate is Fred rather than George. It surprises her that she thinks this. Some part of her had always assumed she'd prefer the more caring nature of George, but there's just something about her that wants the excitement Fred would bring.

…

Fred tries to talk George out of setting off the firework during the Fifth Years' exam, knowing how upset Hermione would be that it was disturbed, but considering the only other exam Professor Umbridge is supposed to be in is their own, Fred doesn't have a choice. It would be too suspicious for the both of them to miss an exam and they both want the element of surprise for their grand escape.

All week they've been setting this up, and today they finally get to put everything into action.

George shoots a charm at the doors of the Great Hall and the slowly open. Every head turns to face the space where a single firework is floating before it explodes into brilliant colours, startling everyone in the room.

"What is the meaning of this?" Professor Umbridge shouts from the front of the hall.

She walks through the rows of students, walking so fast she may as well be running. When she reaches the doors, Fred and George set their plan in motion.

Six fireworks shoot out from behind statues and explode in front of her, while another fifteen are sent into the Great Hall. It isn't long before all of the students have abandoned their exams and come to watch the show.

The fireworks move into the courtyard, and when it seems like everyone in the school is there, they set off their entire stock to keep the students entertained. Fred and George swoop over the crowd shooting hexes at as many Slytherins and Inquisitorial Squad members as they can before heading back into the school. They create as much havoc as they can and then find Peeves, asking him to keep their legacy going now they're leaving. He agrees.

As Fred and George fly away from Hogwarts, Fred feels the familiar tug of the string connecting him to Hermione fade. He feels empty without it now. It's almost enough to turn back, but he knows that he can't.

…

When Fred learns of the fight at the Ministry of Magic his chest tightens. It's like torture knowing two of his family members and Hermione are putting themselves in danger without even contacting anyone. He begs Sirius to let him and George go with them, but they're deemed too young and are left behind.

His mind runs over everything that could go wrong, and surprisingly Hermione being hurt or killed is a more prominent fear than the same happening to his family. He suspects he's driving George mad with his incessant pacing while they wait for news, but for once he doesn't care about his twin. He tried to reassure himself that he'd know if Hermione was in danger, and therefore would also know if his family was too, but he's too numb from the panic to feel anything.

He practically throws himself at Kingsley when he Floo's in. The news of Sirius' death comes as a shock, but Fred's overwhelming feeling is relief that Hermione is alive. His family too, of course, but Hermione is at the forefront of his mind.

It acts as a wake-up call to Fred. Up until this point he has wanted to tell Hermione that they're soulmates but the fear of rejection has stopped him—they have completely different personalities and Fred is doubtful they'd actually work together as a couple. But now, in this moment, he's much more fearful that he'll lose her and never get the opportunity to find out. He'd take the rejection over losing her for good any day.

* * *

 **3rd August, 1996**

Visiting the Burrow in the summer without Fred and George there doesn't feel right to Hermione. It's not just that the place is quieter, but it literally feels different because she doesn't have the comforting tightness of her string. She gets so used to it not being there when she's with the Weasleys that it comes as a surprise when she visits Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and it's suddenly there again.

She's amazed by the number of products they've managed to create. The shelves are stacked with too many things to name, and the shop itself is crowded. It's a wonder Fred and George even spots her, Ron, and Harry in the mass of people.

"This is incredible," Hermione tells them. "How did you manage to come up with all of this?"

"We have been working on it most of our lives," George says.

"And between us, that's thirty-six years." Fred laughs, and it's surprisingly contagious because Hermione joins in not long after.

"What's this one?" she asks, picking up a colourful box featuring a somewhat handsome youth and swooning girl on a pirate ship.

"That, Hermione, is one of our Patented Daydream Charms. Guaranteed to create a realistic daydream lasting for thirty minutes."

"Seriously?" she asks. "This is an extraordinary piece of magic! I didn't know you could create this sort of thing. How did you do it?"

Fred winks. "A magician never reveals his secrets. He will, however, give you this for free for your comment. It means a lot coming from you."

…

When Hermione is back at Hogwarts she tries to lose herself in her studies, but she can't stay focused. She keeps expecting to hear some sort of disruption coming from the common room or another corner of the library caused by Fred and George. It surprises her how the absence of just two people can make somewhere feel so empty. Harry's surprising advancement in Potions keeps Hermione occupied for a while as she tries to beat him, but that only lasts until they spend a lesson making Amortentia and all Hermione can smell is a mixture of the Burrow and Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, with a hint of peppermint, too.

She had hoped that being friends with Ron would keep her from missing Fred and George too much, but when he starts dating Lavender he gets insufferable. Hermione even goes so far as taking Cormac McLaggen to Slughorn's Christmas Party to annoy him, breaking her own rule about dating people who aren't her soulmate—not that she is dating Cormac, nor would she ever consider it.

The rest of the year passes agonisingly slowly, even for Hermione. She longs for the holidays when she can see Fred and George again, when she can get the feeling of belonging and being needed back in her life that comes with being close to the other end of her string. If she focuses, she can sometimes feel a reaction coming from the other end—a particularly strong emotion or a feeling of warmth. Hermione wonders what the warmth means, but all the research that has been done on the subject is inconclusive. Her best guess is that it happens when your soulmate is thinking about you.

…

A spike of panic makes its way into Fred's chest and he doesn't know why. It isn't his, he's merely making dinner. It must be Hermione's. He doesn't even stop to take the pan off the heat before he's grabbing a handful of Floo powder and yelling "The Burrow".

When he arrives at his childhood home, the place feels oddly silent.

"Mum!" he yells. "Dad! It's Fred. Anybody home?"

Molly pokes her head around the living room door.

"Fred, dear, what are you doing here?"

"What's happening at Hogwarts?" he asks. "What's wrong?"

Molly tells him that there are Death Eaters in the castle, that there are Order members and students alike fighting. When she asks how Fred knows, he tells her that Hermione is his soulmate and he could feel her panic. Molly gives him a reassuring smile and tells him, "I know."

Apparently, she had known it from the moment he and Hermione first saw each other as children. She saw the way they both reacted, and she had seen their string brighten and strengthen over the years as they spent more time together. Fred wonders how he hadn't noticed it, but then he always thought about Hermione and not the string that binds them to each other.

When Bill arrives home, Fred asks him to recount what happened. He sighs in relief when he's told nobody was hurt, but that soon turns to shock when he learns that Dumbledore had been killed.

…

At the funeral, he sits next to Hermione. It isn't a conscious decision, he just finds himself there halfway through the service. When Hermione starts crying, he puts his arm around her without thinking and pulls her into a comforting hug. She cries on his shoulder for a while and though Fred knows he should be sad, he can't help but feel a rush of glee as he realises she isn't pulling away. He's too busy trying to focus on the funeral to notice the literal heat that the bond between them is creating.

Afterwards, he doesn't mention it and neither does she. They just leave to their respective friend groups and the moment is lost, though they both treasure it in the following months that they are apart. When Hermione remembers the moment, it is tinged with regret—she was so wrapped up in her feelings she never stopped to take notice of which twin was holding her. She noticed the heat, noticed the pull between them that made Hermione want to bury herself further into his side, but she didn't notice the scar in the hairline or the roundness of his jaw.

* * *

 _ **27th July, 1997**_

The night George loses his ear is the first time Hermione has any real indication of whether her soulmate is Fred or George. She still can't be sure, of course—that night is full of panic and heightened emotions—but when George loses his ear, she doesn't feel anything more than she had before. Surely if she can somewhat feel her soulmates emotions through the string that connects them, she'd feel the pain of him losing an ear. It isn't a definite sign, but it's something. She doesn't know how to find out short of asking, though, and right now definitely isn't the right time to be bringing it up.

When everyone is back safe, Bill informs them of Mad-Eye's death and Hermione is glad she chose not to say anything. This is a time for grieving and planning, not for love. She tries to be there for Fred if he needs anyone, but he's too wrapped up trying to beat George for the best ear-related joke (Fred is losing, but Hermione thinks he's losing on purpose—he's not the one that actually lost his ear, after all).

Then Bill and Fleur's wedding comes at them faster than anybody expected. All too soon, Molly has everybody in the house preparing for the event. Hermione doesn't mind so much; it takes her mind off the task she, Harry, and Ron have to fulfil as well as taking her mind off the fact that it means she won't get another chance to talk to Fred and George, to find out for sure, until after it's all over. Shaking her head, Hermione dismisses the thought. She can't wait that long, she knows she shouldn't because she'd be leaving her soulmate knowing she was away and possibly getting hurt while he can do nothing about it, but on the chance something happens, she needs to know before she leaves. A wedding, she decides, is probably the perfect place to bring the subject up, especially when the people getting married are soulmates themselves.

Hermione doesn't get a chance to find out, though. As she's working up the nerve to go and ask, Kingsley's Patronus bursts into the tent. The message plays and there is a moment of silence before chaos erupts. Hermione abandons her quest instantly, instead, she rushes to find Harry and Ron and then Apparates them away to Tottenham Court Road. As she's leaving, she swears she can hear someone that sounds a lot like Fred call her name, but she has no time to turn back.

…

The months that follow are agony for both Fred and Hermione. Neither of them are safe, and neither of them know where the other is. The only time they're close enough together for their string to react is when Hermione breaks into Gringotts.

Fred fills his time presenting Potterwatch and preparing for the fight ahead. When Potterwatch isn't on, he, George, and Lee are hauled up learning new spells to give them an advantage against the Death Eaters. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes takes a backseat in their lives and plans for new products lay forgotten in the bottoms of bags.

Hermione is busy enough on the hunt for Horcruxes that she doesn't have time to think of anything else, but her mind always wanders back to Fred and George when they have some downtime. When Ron is listening to the radio, Hermione listens in. It makes her tense when it comes on, but the tension always leaves when the list of names is over and nobody she knows is missing or dead. When Harry and Ron ask her what's making her so upset, she tells them. Ron leaves and Hermione isn't sure if it's because she doesn't know who her soulmate is or because he wanted it to be him. She regrets telling them as soon as the words are out of her mouth—it only puts more pressure on them all to end things quickly.

Everyone is on edge these days, never knowing what's going to happen next. When Hermione gets tortured on the floor of Malfoy Manor, Fred barely registers the pain that comes through the connection. It isn't the first bout of pain he's received, and he can't tell if it's real or an amplification of the panic and fear they're all feeling. He wishes he could be there to help, of course he does, but he also knows it's not his place. So when the pain comes again, stronger this time, he tries to take his mind off it by practicing duelling with George.

…

When Fred steps into the Room of Requirement and sees Hermione there, it takes everything in him not to run over and hug her. He's relieved to see that she's alive and well, or as well as the rest of them are anyway. Hermione's mission isn't over, though, and Fred is disappointed to see her leave but there isn't anything he could do to stop her. All he can do is keep the castle safe for as long as possible and hope they both come out on the other side.

He races through the castle, aiding anyone who needs it, keeping the Death Eaters out for as long as possible. His whole body is tense with panic, and not all of it is his own. If there was one thing he could change about soulmates it would be that. He'd find it much easier to fight if he didn't keep feeling Hermione's panic, if it wasn't adding to his own and making it worse.

As he starts thinking about her, she races down the staircase with Ron at her heels.

"Hermione!" he calls.

He's fighting a seventh-year Slytherin he doesn't remember. Hermione races over and joins the duel, a furious look on her face.

"Hermione," he says again. "In case we don't make it through tonight, I just wanted—"

"Avada Kedavra!"

The Slytherin shoots a killing curse at the pair and they both go diving towards the floor, the spell only just missing them.

"Fred, don't. Not now. We can't think like that. Both of us have to survive, we have people depending on us."

"That's… that's not right…" Fred says as he casts a couple more hexes at the Slytherin that both miss.

Hermione shoots a non-verbal freezing charm at the boy and he falls backwards.

"We're going to get through this; you can tell me whatever it is after."

Hermione runs off before she can change her mind. She thinks, she hopes, she knows what Fred was going to say, but if she had stayed she wouldn't be able to focus on the task at hand, and right now she needs to find something to destroy Hufflepuff's Cup with.

After Hermione leaves, Fred fights harder than ever. He needs to see the other side of this war. He needs to get through the night. He needs to spend the rest of his life with Hermione. So he fights. The Death Eaters have forced their way into the castle and Fred is ruthless with the spells he casts. He and George battle together and take down everyone they're faced with. They take it in turns, one attacking and the other blocking anything that comes their way. They make the perfect team, they always have.

They separate to cover more ground; George goes to find Ginny while Fred goes to defend the upper floors. A few times, Fred almost gets hit by curses, momentarily forgetting that George isn't by his side to throw up protective charms. He manages to get by, though, and after a couple of near misses, he gets used to fighting by himself.

He doesn't expect to see Percy in the middle of a duel with the Minister for Magic, but he doesn't let the surprise stop him. He races forwards to join his brother and they fight side by side, almost as well as he does with George. They're joined by Hermione, Ron, and Harry halfway through. Fred is thankful for their backup as more Death Eaters had showed up and he and Percy were beginning to get overwhelmed.

They eventually push the Death Eaters back, and when Percy yells "Petrificus Totalus" and it hits the Minister square in the chest, everyone flees.

Hermione's relieved smile is blinding, and it's all Fred can see. He barely even register the fact that _Percy_ is the one next to him making jokes.

"Run!" Harry's scream breaks through Fred's reverie and he starts to run.

…

Rumbles echo around them and Hermione feels the smile fall from her face. She can't quite tell what's causing the sound, but she knows it can't be good.

"Run!" Harry screams.

It takes Hermione a minute to realise why, and by that point, it's already too late. An avalanche of stone is falling from above, from where a massive hole now sits in the exterior of the castle.

"Run!" Harry screams again, and this time she does.

She isn't fast enough, she knows she isn't, but Hermione keeps running anyway. It's just as she's about to collide into Fred that she realises he's running the wrong way. He'd responded to Harry's shout much faster than she had, but instead of running away from the blast, he was running towards it. Towards _her._

"Fred, what are y—"

Hermione's question is cut off as their bodies collide and Fred practically throws her away from the worst of the damage.

"No!" she screams, every ounce of dread she has held onto for the last year pouring out into the singular syllable. Because she knows. In the split second Fred held her tight before she was being catapulted away from the blast zone, she felt their connection. She felt the warmth of his touch, hotter and more comforting than the average human. She could sense everything his was feeling. And she saw their string turn to a brilliant blood red as the truth was realised.

When she hits the ground, Hermione is straight back up and running towards Fred. But she's too late, she knows she is. He's already on the ground, surrounded by the now settled debris.

"Fred!" Tears pour from her eyes but Hermione barely notices them.

Time seems to slow down and it takes Hermione what feels like years to reach Fred. When she sees that he's still breathing she starts to relax, but then she sees the pool of blood that's making its way across the stone floor, filling every gap it finds.

She lays a hand on his cheek and his eyes flutter open slightly.

"Fred," she croaks. "You have to hold on. I told you; both of us _have_ to survive."

"That's… that's not right…" he croaks, echoing the words she remembers him saying before. "You… you're more… important."

She grasps his hand in hers. "Please hold on," she says. "For me."

He doesn't.

She feels his hand go limp in hers. The tears seem endless. Her eyes are the only thing still able to move; her body feels paralyzed with numbness. She tracks her gaze on the deep red of the blood inching its way towards where her friends stand and it's only then she truly understands why they call it 'blood red'.

It's an image she doesn't think she will ever be able to erase from her memory. Yet, even if she could, she wouldn't. Yes, it's the memory of her soulmate dying, blood the colour of the string of fate connecting them spreading as far as she can see, but it's also the memory of Fred's last words to her, the ones he uttered while she was asking him to hold on. It's the memory holding the words she had been waiting a lifetime to hear.

"I love you."

* * *

 **Word Count:** 9,929.

* * *

 **This is for:**

 _ **Hogwarts Assignment 8 – Muggle History;  
**_ _Task 2: Aaron Burr, sir – write about someone fighting for what they want_

 _ **Hogwarts April Event – Auction;  
**_ _Soulmate!AU – Red String of Fate._

 _ **Hogwarts Yearly Event – Insane House Challenge;  
**_ _209\. (AU) Soulmate_

 _ **Hogwarts Yearly Event – 365 Prompts;  
**_ _168\. (location) Hogwarts_

 _ **Hogwarts Yearly Event – Fanfiction Resolutions;  
**_ _45\. Write a Soulmate!AU  
66\. Write a five drabble/one-shot collection based around the same prompt – Red String of Fate AU_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Character Appreciation;  
**_ _30\. (house) Gryffindor  
Bonus! Use Fred and George Weasley_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Book Club;  
**_ _Mama-ji – (colour) blood red, (word) ancient, (word) familiar, (object) jewellery_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Showtime;  
**_ _1\. Overture - write a different POV canon event_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Count Your Buttons;  
**_ _D1 - "Run!"  
W4 - Avalanche_

 _ **Hogwarts Writing Club – Ami's Audio Admirations;  
**_ _5\. King Falls – (word) fall_

 _ **Hogwarts Easter Event – Bingo;  
**_ _9\. (setting) Hogwarts_

 _ **Hogwarts Easter Event – Guess the Name;  
**_ _Domino – Hermione_

 _ **Hogwarts April Club – Gobstones;  
**_ _Pink Stone – Sacrifice  
(dialogue) "Both of us have to survive", (word) spiral, (dialogue) "That's… that's not right…"_

 _ **Hogwarts April Event – Scavenger Hunt;  
** 3\. Use the prompt set: (colour) mauve, (word) spring, (dialogue) "you have got to be kidding me"_


End file.
